Keke Palmer Reveals the Message Behind Her Sexy and “Vulnerable” New Music Video

When Keke Palmer was recording her new song, “Enemiez,” she knew that it needed a super-sexy music video to accompany its release. And that’s exactly what the Scream Queens and Grease: Live! star delivered.

Palmer just dropped a dramatic and dance-heavy new music video for “Enemiez,” the first single off her upcoming album that’s slated to be released later this year. Featuring R&B singer Jeremih, the song tells a tale of unrequited love—and 22-year-old Palmer wanted to create a music video that’s just as sultry and lust-filled as her lyrics.

“The concept for the video is loosely based on the idea of West Side Story,” Palmer told InStyle when she stopped by our New York City headquarters on Wednesday. “It’s a love story between these two gang members, and through the journey, you watch me find my inner strength.” Palmer does that with the help of her backup dancers, whose faces and bodies are completely covered with black fabric on camera. She calls them her “shadow kids,” and it’s through them that her character truly figures out what she wants in the video. “They pretty much display my inner personalities,” said Palmer. “I use them as my strength to tell [this guy] to back up off me.”

Kyleen James for InStyle.com

It was important for Palmer that her onscreen persona was in a position of power. “I wanted to make sure that there was strength shown in the video somehow,” she said. “I am fighting for this love, and I reach a point where I’m willing to do anything to be with this loved one. You go through the journey with me to the end of the moment where I go up against my head gang leader.”

While she may be willing to do whatever it takes to be with her man onscreen, Palmer wanted the song to be about more than just the physical intimacy that she croons about in “Enemiez.” And at its core, the video is really about her character’s needs. “The song is saying something that is so vulnerable,” she said. Still, Palmer made sure to have some fun with it—especially when it came to finalizing the song’s title. “I decided to put a 'z' at the end instead of an 's,' because it’s a little bit more chill and just has a better vibe,” she said. Now that’s something even her “Enemiez” can’t deny.

Check out the video below.

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